Page 50 of Willing to Wed the Rancher
Silence settled over the grassy cleared land around the cabin, with only the chirping of a nearby chickadee to remind him that life went on. The sun was already high, the sign that the morning was well underway, and none of the chores had been done. From what he could tell, the children were still asleep, or at least had remained inside during the commotion.
Clarabelle wavered again as she stared in the direction Clementine had gone. Tears now streaked her cheeks. She was a sensitive woman, and her sister’s frustration had upset her.
But in his opinion, Clementine had overreacted. Aside from having dinner with her the one time, he’d never given her any reason to believe he cared about her or wanted to have a relationship with her. Even while he’d been at the dinner, he’d tried to keep their conversations and interactions formal and polite.
In the end, what Clementine thought or wanted didn’t matter. His heart was already taken. Yes, he should have made a point of informing her sooner that he wouldn’t be calling on her again, maybe should have told her he was interested in Clarabelle.
Interesteddidn’t even begin to describe how he felt about Clarabelle.
Even though he’d declared his love privately to her, and now publicly in front of her sister, she hadn’t yet spoken of her love for him. She was most certainly attracted to him. He had no doubt of that anymore. Not after the way she’d kissed him back.
But attraction didn’t equate with love.
Just because he was already in love with her didn’t mean she would fall instantly in love with him. Most people didn’t fall in love at first sight the way he had, which meant he had to give her more time, had to be patient, had to allow for a natural progression of their relationship.
Regardless, he needed to find a way to comfort and reassure her. He reached up and brushed his thumb across a tear on her cheek, wiping it away.
Another one rolled down to take its place. “She’s never been angry at me like this,” Clarabelle whispered. “What if she hates me the same way you hated Eric?”
Why was Clarabelle comparing herself to Eric? Surely she didn’t think their being found in the bed was like what had happened when he’d discovered Eric and Luisa. “The situation this morning is very different from my relationship with Eric.”
She turned her big green eyes upon him. “I betrayed my sister, Franz. I should have talked to her first before allowing myself to... to be with you.”
“You do not have to get her permission to care about me.”
“But she likes you, and I came in and stole your affection away from her.”
Franz spun Clarabelle gently so that she was facing him. “You did not steal it away from her. You could not do so—not when you have always had it.”
“But she asked me if she should cancel her plans to see you, and I didn’t say no. I told her if seeing you would make her happy, then I wanted that for her.”
He was beginning to understand Clarabelle’s relationship with her twin. Clementine was more dominant and had likely always been the leader of the two. And Clarabelle had probably gone along with her sister, rarely speaking her mind or demanding her way.
That sort of sibling relationship might have worked for picking out toys and candy when they were children, but the dynamics didn’t apply for choosing men now that they were adults.
Franz wanted to tell Clarabelle again that it wouldn’t matter how much permission she gave to her sister to see him. It wouldn’t matter how happy Clementine would be with him. He didn’t want her. He only wanted Clarabelle.
But at the moment, she wasn’t able to see that. Instead, she was too worried that her relationship with her sister would turn out like his had with Eric. “Clementine is much kinder and more loving than I am,” he said. “She won’t make the same mistake in despising you that I made in despising Eric.”
“You don’t know Clementine the way I do.”
“But I also know that I was very stubborn in hanging on to my hurt.” Maybe it had taken him time to come to that conclusion, but he was finally able to see it. If only he’d seen it earlier.
“Clem is stubborn too.”
He reached for her hand, needing to connect with her.
Before he could circle his hand around hers, she pulled away and took a step back. “I think it’s best if we don’t pursue anything right now.”
He could feel he was losing her. He needed to prevent it, but he didn’t know how. “Please, do not push me away. We can work through this, can we not?”
“I don’t know.”
With her uncertainty, he could persuade her to be with him. She’d admitted that she rarely said no, which meant he could probably get her to agree to anything he wanted.
But was that really what he wanted? To coerce her? To have her feel obligated to him? To have her get tangled into an agreement the same way she had with Eric?
He shook his head. No, that wasn’t how he wanted to win her over. He wanted her to be agreeable on her own. He wanted her to be willing to be with him. And he wanted her to say yes because she meant it—not simply because she didn’t know how to refuse him.
